Call the Color Passing Game
Communication
Legend
- player
- defender
- ball
- movement path
How it works
Teach young players to communicate by calling a teammate's pinnie color before passing the ball.
What you need
- field hockey sticks
- field hockey ball
- colored pinnies
Your focus
Requiring players to verbalize before passing builds the communication habit from the earliest ages. Color identification adds a cognitive layer that keeps the drill mentally engaging. Loud communication in practice transfers to game situations.
Each player wears a different-colored pinnie; players scatter in a 15x15-yard grid.
Players pass to each other, but must call the receiving player's color before passing.
If a player passes without calling the color, the ball goes to the coach for 5 seconds.
Play for 5 minutes; increase the speed requirement progressively.
Goal
You've got it when no pass goes without a call, every single time, the receiver says something before the ball arrives.
Helpful cues
- Say the color before you pass, not after
- Call it loud enough for your teammate to hear
- Eye contact AND voice, both count
Adjust the challenge
Make it easier
Strip it back
Allow players to call a teammate's name instead of color.
UpLVL it
Add the next challenge
Player must call the color AND the type of pass (push/hit) before passing.No account needed
Build a practice plan
Add drills, keep the plan in this browser, then share a link with your staff or parents.This library helps you find the right drill. Inside UpLVL the right drill finds the player.
This library helps you find the right drill. Inside UpLVL the right drill finds the player.After every practice, UpLVL automatically surfaces the drills each player needs to work on most. See it for yourself.